Improvement in boot and shoe sewing machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

BOOT AND SHOE SEWING-MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 28; 1875.

LKEATS'QA; ennnnwoon & A.

No.171,6ZZ.

NPETERS, PHOTO-LITROGRAPHEH. WASHINGTON. D, C.

Q 4Sheets-Sheet2. I J. KEATS, A. GREENWOOD 8a A. KEATS.

' BOOT AND SHOE SEWING MACHINE,

No.171,622. Patented Dec. 28,1875.

4 SheetsSheet 3.

J. KEATS, A. GREENWOOD & '.AQ KEATS.

BOOT'AND SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

( Patented Dec.- 28,1875.

Wa'iwewes N.FETER8, PMOTD-LITHOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D. C,

. 4 Sheets-Sheet4. J. KEATS, A. GREENWOOD & A. KEATS- BOOT, AND SHOE SEWING MACHINE. Ng 171,622 Patented Dec. 28,1875.

N. PETERS, PflOTO-UTNOGMPNER. WASNOIOGTDN. D G.

UNI ED STATES PATEN QFFIGE.

JOHN KEATS, OF NEwoAsTL RTHUR GREENWOOD, OF LEEDS, AND ALPHONSO KEATS, OF NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOT AND SHOE SEWING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 17 L622, dated December 28, 1875 application filed May 17,1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN KEATS, of Newcastle, in the county of Stafford, ARTHUR GR ENWOOD, of Leeds, in the county of York, and ALPHONSO KEATS, of Newcastle aforesaid, England, have invented certain Improvements in Boot and Shoe Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification:

The invention relates, mainly, to the introduction into boot-sewing machines of the Grispin construction of the swivel-horn used in another class of boot-sewing mac ines, for supporting the work while being sewed, the Grispin being known as that class of machines f which produce the lock-stitch by means of a vertical hook, a loop divider and spreader, a rotary looper, and a traversing shuttle.

Hitherto, in the swivel-horn machine, the common chain-stitch has been used, which is a very inferior stitch for boot and shoe work to that produced by the Grispin machine. Many difficulties, however, attended the combination of the shuttle-stitch mechanism with the swivel-horn,,the chief 'of which was due to the fact that the rotation, or partial rotation, of the horn while the sewing is proceeding serves to twist the loop of the thread held by the vertical hooked needle, and thereby prevents the shuttle from entering the loop. A change of time was, therefore, required in the relative action of the working parts in order to enable the shuttle to enter the loop so soon as released by the hooked needle, and while being opened by the spreader. It was also found desirable to introduce a novel arrangement of mechanism for working the combined top feed and presser.

In Sheet Iof thedrawings, Figure 1 shows, in vertical section, the improved combination of mechanism for sewing boots and shoes.

' Fig. 2, Sheet II, is a plan view of the swivelhorn and parts in connection therewith. Fig. 3, Sheet 111, is a partial front elevation of the machine; and Fig. 1 Sheet 1, is a plan view of the shuttle-carriage and the parts in connection therewith. Figs. 4 and 4, Sheet II, are diagrams of the cam used to operate the vertical hooked needle.

Fig. 5 is a diagram of the grooved cam used for working the loopdivider, the same being laid out flat; and Fig.

6 is a diagram of the shuttle-cam laid out flat- In Sheet IV, Fig. 7 shows the stitch hitherto made by theOrispin machine, and the means employed in its production. Fig. 8 shows the improved knotted or twisted stitch,and the means employed in its production. Fig. 8 is a plan of the looper. Figs. 9, 10, l1, and 12 are diagrams showing, on an enlarged scale, the operating instruments'by which the stitches are produced, the same being drawn in dilferent positions to illustrate the progress of the work.

Referring, now, to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Ais the swivel-horn, made hollow, as at A which represents a heating-chamber, a jet or jets of gas being burned therein to heat the waxed thread which is drawn off from the bobbin B. This bobbin is mounted horizontally in journals or bearings carried by standards, which may be situated in any convenient position upon the swivel-horn, either at the side or end, or near the center of motion of the said horn, and it is furnished with an elastic tension-brake, G, hereafter to be particularly described, for adjusting the tension of the thread, which thread is led through an eye of the horn, and up to the looper D. The horn projects from a tubular socket, A which is free to turn in a bearing, E, of the main framing.

The looper D receives its axial motion from the shat'ting and gear-wheels F F, Fig. 1, the bevel-wheel at the top of the inclined shaft taking into the teeth on the looper, as heretofore.

In order, however, to reverse the direction of rotation of the looper D, and thereby produce the peculiar knot or twist, already referred to, and to be hereafter more particularly. noticed, the shafting and gears F are driven by a reciprocating rack, carried by a rack-bar, F which is jointed to a rock-lever, F (see Fig. 2,) carrying a bowl, that works in the groove of a face-cam, F on a vertical shaft, H. This shaft carries a bevel-wheel at its upper end,which, through bevel-gear, serves to gear it with the horizontal driving-shaft 1*,

from which the horizontal cam-shaft I receives its motion, and to which are fitted the cams for working the hooked needle, the loop -d ivider, the shuttle, and the presser and feed nponthe nose of thehorn.

spreader projects.

bar. K is the presser and feed bar. It is made square, and is fitted in an open vertical slot cut in the front part of the head L of the machine. This bar is supported by being jointed to an arm, K which has for its fulcrum a bracketon the head L, anditreceives a vertical motion from a cam, K, fitted to the shaft I. Bearing upon this camis a loose pin, K, which is free to slide through ahole made in the head Lto receive it, and upon this pin bears an adjustable screw,K, carried by the arm K. A downward pressure is given to the bar K by the coiled springs K, (shown in the partial front elevation, Fig. 3, Sheet 1H,) for the purpose of holding firm the work against the pull of the hooked needle, the cam K regulating the amount of downward pressure of the work This presser-bar, which serves also to feed the work, receives its transversemotion from a face-cam, K on the shaft I,which'camserves to rock a lever, K held in contact therewith by acoiled spring, K and jointed to an arm, K which atits opposite end is jointed to the feed-bar K. The amount of traverse motion to be given to the feed-bar is limited'by theadjusting-screw K", set infrontof the bar, and it is held up from the work, when required, by means of a lifting cam and lever, K. M is the needle-bar, carrying the hooked needle M*, which pierces the work, and fetches up the thread from the looper D to present it to the shuttle, This bar is fitted with a cam, M, which is shown in faceview in the diagrams Figs. 4 and 4. W is a crankpin, carried by a cam on the end of the shaft 1, and working in the groove of thecam M. Nisthe loop-divider, which, in concert withthe loop-spreader N, (shown in plan at Fig. 1,).prepares the loop for the entrance of the shuttle.

The loop-divider is carried by a cranked rock-leverpN which is operatedby agrooved cam, N The loop-spreader N* is jointed to the shuttle-race in rearof the shuttle, and it extends forward and outward so as to work close up to, but clear of, thevertical hooked needle. It iscaused to approach to and re cede from the hooked needle, so as to seize theloop formed by the ascent of the'hooked needle, and to open or spread'it by means of ,a cam-shaped slot formed in the shuttle-carriage 0*,into'which slot a pinon theloop- As, therefore, by the traverseoflthc carriage 0* the shuttle is moved forward to enter the loop, the loop-opener is caused to recede and open out the loop for the entrance of the shuttle. O isthe shuttle for throwing thelocking-thread through the loops of the looperthread. 0* is the shuttle-carriage. O is the cam for working the shuttlecarriage through the connecting-arm Oand link-rod O It should be remarked thatin this machine it is requisite that the feed shall take'place while the rear of the shuttle is passing through the loop of the looper-thread, instead of, as heretoforein the Grispin machines, whilethe dle and shuttle.

nose is passing through; and, further, that the shuttle must be in the loop while the work on the swivel-arm is being turned. This will be known to theattendant by his feeling less re sistance at the right moment for turning than at any other time, which is due to the presser and the hook being both clear of the work while the shuttle is holding the loop at tension. The attendantwould not, however, be able to detect this diminished resistance if he were required, as heretofore, to concentrate his attention on the guiding of the work under the vertical hooked needle. We have therefore introduced a horizontal guide-roller, P, (see Fig. 3, Sheet III,) which is brought up into contact with the work, and gages the position of the sole with respect to the upper-that is, it gagesthe required distance of the sewing from the edge of the inner sole, so as to allow a definite margin on the weltsole when prepared to receive the outer sole,

asis usualin hand-made boots. This. roller P is mounted loosely upon a pin, P carried by a sliding plate, I, which moves in V- guides made for it in the shuttle-race, andis made self-adjustable vertically, to suit the varying thicknesses of the materialswbeing sewed, by means of the coiled spring P*.' A spring, P serves'to retract the slide 1?, and it is held in position by a notched cam-lever, P the notches of which serve as bearings for a pin on the slide, and thus keep the roller to its desired position. i

To provide for the presser and hooked needle being clear of thework while-the shuttle holds the loop at tension, great exactness and certainty of action will be required in i the stitch-forming instruments. To this endthe form of the ordinary needle-camis modified,

anda positive motiouis'given to theUloopdivider by means of a suitably-grooved cam, so as to insure its followingand keepingalways its relative position tothehooked nee- The construction ofthese cams is clearlyshown in Sheet II.

The diagrams, Figs. 4 and 4. show the several pos tions-ofthe hooked needle-cam M during one revolution of'the crank-pin M.

Fig. 4 illustrates the descent of the hooked needle during one half-revolution of the crankpin; and Fig.4, the ascent of the hooked needle to the highest position, and aslight descent during the remaining half-revolution of the crank-pin, while a dwell is obtained during the travel of the crank-pin from the position of b to 11*.

The amountof thec'am and hooked needle descent, after the highest position and before the dwell, is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4;.

By this action of the hook the lifting of the new loop of thread, afterthe previous stitch has been drawn tight, is greatly facilitated.

Referring, now, to the grooved dividejr cain N Fig. 5,,when that part of the groove between 1 and 2 is passing the bowleof the rocklever N carrying the divider N, the point of the divider will be caused to advance and enter the new loop of the hooked needle,

(as shown in theposition of the parts at Sheet 1,) and, continuing to advance while the part 3 of the cam is passing, will open or divide the two threads. At the part 4 of the cam, the loop will be lifted from the hooked needle, aided by the descent of the hook, as before mentioned. The parts will then be in the position shown in the diagram, Fig. 9, Sheet lV, (Where the loop-opener isalso shown as in action,) the shuttle entering the loop, aided by the combined action of, the divider and loopopener. As part 5 of the grooved cam is operating, the divider will be caused to retire from the hooked needle, to lower the loop as the shuttle enters the loop. During the passage of the part 6, the divider remains stationary while the shuttle is passing through the loop, as shown in the diagram, Fig. 10.- At7 the divider will be caused to fall to allow the loop to fall off the heel of the shuttle, as shown in Fig. 1]. During the passage of part 8, the divider will assume the position shown at Fig. 1-2, the hooked needle at the same time operating to draw up the stitch just formed to tension. The diagram, Fig. 6, which shows the shuttle-cam laid out, will sufficiently explain how the shuttle motion is timed relatively to the motions of the divider, loopopener, and hooked needle-1 representing the part of the shuttle-cam acting when the parts are in the position of Fig. 1, Sheet I; 2, the part opposite the bowle when the parts are in the position of Fig. 9, Sheet 1V, 3 corresponding with the position of the parts at Fig. 10, and 4 corresponding with the position of the parts at Fig. 11. When the parts of the stitching mechanism are in the position shown in the diagram, Fig. 9, the looper D (see Figs. 8 and 8 is caused to turn in the direction of the dotted arrow, making one revolution, and remaining stationary until the hooked needle M descends into the central hole of the looper. It is then caused to make a rapid revolution in the direction of the drawn arrow, wrapping the thread around the hooked needle from the left to right, in front of the hooked needle, and a twist or tied stitch is thus obtained. The difference between this stitch and the ordinary stitch of the Grispin machine (which latter is produced by lapping the thread around the hook in the reverse direction from right to left at the back of the hook) will be seen by comparing the enlarged view of the ordinary stitch, Fig. 7, with a similar view of the new stitch at Fig. 8.

From these diagrams it will be seen that if a row of the ordinary Orispin stitches were drawn out into line, (the fabric sewed being absent,) the looper-throad would appear as coiled, serpentine fashion, over the shuttlethread, while, under similar, circumstances, the new Orispin stitch would show the looperthread as coiled with a back curl over the shuttle-thread. Both these methods are further illustrated at Figs. 7* and 8*.

The advantage of this latter stitch for securing the sole to the upper will be obvious, as each stitch is locked independently of the other, and does not depend for its security in great part on the line of stitches remaining unbroken.

It has been explained that this stitch is due to the reversing of I the direction of rotation of the looper when lapping the thread around the book. For this purpose we keep the gear as ordinarily used, and provide a suitable cam to give motion in the required directionthat is, a reversed direction from that heretofore give'nto the bar F, which is in gear with the pinion F on the shaft that drives the looper; or the like result may be attained by placing the rack-teeth on the opposite side of the rock-bar, and bringing them into gear with the opposite side of the pinion, which is driven by the rock-bar. By this arrangement the swivel-arm is free to move into the dotted position 1 of Fig. 2, or into the dotted position 2 in the same figure, which latter position indicates an extent of motion that is sufficient for all requirements.

The adjustable brake-tension for the bobbin B, Figs. 1 and 3, consists of a brake-block, G, which bears against the peripheries of both flanges of the bobbin, which are turned down square and broad for that purpose. This brakeblock G is carried by a blade-spring secured to a tipping-piece, G which is pivoted to a bracket, A T is bracket is cast with or is firmly secured to the swivel-arm A. Fitted to the tipping-piece is an adjusting-screw, which bears upon the bracket. By simply turning this screw any desired amount of elastic pressure may be put upon the bobbin through the blade-spring and block G.

Having now described the nature of our in vention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not claim the swivel and support, except in combination with the other device hereinabove mentioned; but

We claim- 1. In a sewing-machine arranged and organized for uniting the soles and uppers of boots and shoes by means of two wax-threads, making a lock-stitch, the combination,with a swivel arm or horn, A, of the following specially-timed instruments, viz: the hooked needle M*, the whirl D, the shuttle 0, the loop opener or divider N, the spreader N and the bar K,which performs both the pressing andthe feeding operations while sewing, all substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of the traversing cam M the rotary cams N 0 and the sliding cam 0*, for giving a suitably-timed motion to the hook M, the divider N, the shuttle O, and the spreader N the whole operating substantially as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

3. The horizontal guide-roller P, mounted on a vertical spindle supported by a spring, so as to be self-adjustable vertically, in combination with a notched cam-lever, P and coiled spring P substantially as herein described,

whereby it may be adjusted horizontally to gene the required distance of the sewing from the edge of the inner sole, and of adapting itself to the inequalities of the material, and allowing also a definite margin on the weltsole, as isusual in hand-made boots, to receive 5. In combination with the bobbin B, arranged horizontally upon. the swivel arm or horn,thebrake-bl0ck Gr, bearing on both flanges of the bobbin, the spring G the tipping-piece G and the adjusting-screw G all substantially as herein specified.

Dated the 24th day of March, 1875. ARTHUR GREENWOOD.

JOHN KEATS. ALPHONSO KEATS.

Witnesses to signatures of J. KEATS and A A. KEATS:

J. M. LUCAS, HENRY T. BROWN. Witnesses to the signature of ARTHUR GREENWOOD:

' WM. WARD, 

